What the government’s measures to fight the spread of Covid-19 mean in practice
Publicity
Publicity will be increased about the need for good hygiene measures (handwashing and “catch it, bin it, kill it”) and for workers to stay at home for the full duration of their illness.
Continue reading...Officials claim British-Iranian dual national has not been affected by coronavirus
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is being offered temporary release from Evin prison in Tehran due to the risk of the coronavirus outbreak reaching Iran’s jails.
The news was confirmed by the Iranian ambassador to the UK, Hamid Baeidinejad, and by Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s constituency MP in north-west London, Tulip Siddiq.
Continue reading...In a bid to stem spread of the virus, schools in Hong Kong, China and Japan have been shut for weeks
“It’s been a long holiday,” laughs Hong Kong insurance worker and mother, Sarah Wong.
Wong and her two daughters, Chloe and Greeta, are at a co-working space in Jordan, Kowloon. Chloe has set her desk up like home, with an iPad, her own lamp, and an aromatherapy diffuser. The girls, aged 12 and eight, are listening to online lessons from their school which has been closed because of the coronavirus.
Continue reading...Prof Brendan Murphy updates the media in Canberra on Australia's plans in response to the 'significant' spread of the coronavirus outside China. 'It is no longer possible to absolutely prevent new cases coming in, given the increasing changes in epidemiology around the country,' the chief medical officer says
The prime minister has said it is likely that coronavirus will spread in the UK after the number of cases in the country rose to 40 on Monday. Boris Johnson said the government was well prepared to deal with the disease and added that people ‘should go about business as usual’
Continue reading...Lee Man-hee, the reclusive founder of the Shincheonji Church at the centre of South Korea’s coronavirus outbreak, has apologised over the virus’s spread. The church became the target of public anger after one of its members, known as Patient 31, tested positive for the virus and infected many others. Lee said the church had tried to prevent the spread of the virus among its members. He spoke a day after the Seoul city government asked prosecutors to begin a murder investigation into him
Continue reading...South Korea reports almost 500 new cases and a second person dies in the US as UK ministers hold emergency meeting
Big businesses and wealthy people are chartering private jets for “evacuation flights” out of countries hit by the coronavirus outbreak, reports the Guardian’s wealth correspondent Rupert Neate.
Adam Twidell, the chief executive of the private jet booking service PrivateFly, said the company had been inundated with requests from multinational firms arranging the mass evacuation of staff from China and south-east Asia.
Related: Wealthy turning to private jets to escape coronavirus outbreak
British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq has had confirmation from the family of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman detained in Iran, that she has not been tested for coronavirus. Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband told broadcasters this morning that his wife suspected she might have the virus and was displaying all the symptoms.
Just spoken to Nazanin’s family about what was said in the chamber in my Urgent Question - she told them this morning categorically that she has NOT been tested for coronavirus and remains petrified about her health #FreeNazanin
Continue reading...Controls on the ‘online information content ecosystem’ bring heightened concern about freedom of speech
Sweeping new internet censorship rules have gone into effect in China, prompting concerns that authorities will further control information and online debate as the country reels from the coronavirus outbreak.
China’s cybersecurity administration has since Saturday implemented a set of new regulations on the governance of the “online information content ecosystem” that encourage “positive” content while barring material deemed “negative” or illegal.
Continue reading...Covid-19 is spreading around the globe but Australia has not yet had a case of community transmission. That is likely to change
With novel coronavirus (Covid-19) spreading with astonishing speed, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that many health systems are not prepared to control infections if the disease hits. To mitigate the risk of outbreaks, WHO warned that countries need to have proactive surveillance, rapid diagnosis and immediate quarantine, plus an education campaign so the public knows proper hygiene and what to do if they become sick.
Australia reported its first Covid-19-related death on Sunday – 78-year-old James Kwan from Perth, a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. To date 29 cases have been reported in Australia and of those, 15 have recovered. There is no community transmission, meaning no one has yet caught the disease without travelling to an infection zone or without direct contact with one of the few infected people. But some health experts and researchers have said community spread is inevitable in Australia, and questions are being asked about how many people might need treatment in hospital and how many might become critically ill – and whether resources will cope.
Continue reading...The health secretary tells BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show that the government is considering all options, from closing schools to banning large gatherings of people at sporting events or concerts, if the coronavirus continues to spread in the UK. Asked if it might follow the Chinese strategy of isolating cities with large outbreaks, he said: ‘We don’t take anything off the table at this stage’
Continue reading...USA, Australia and Thailand report first deaths from coronavirus as two frontline doctors in China die and bans are put in place on large gatherings. Follow live news
A parent and child who attended the minor injuries unit at Sevenoaks Hospital in Kent on Saturday afternoon have been advised to self-isolate at home and call NHS 111 in case they require testing for the coronavirus.
The parent grew concerned when the child, who had been at school with pupils who recently returned from Italy, developed a mild temperature.
Our Sevenoaks Minor Injury Unit (MIU) has now closed for the evening and will be reopening as normal tomorrow morning.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
You can find the details of your nearest, alternative MIU here https://t.co/TjQ9dy665d pic.twitter.com/YmotgxTFLq
A “surveillance network” of GP practices in Scotland will test patients with coughs and fevers and submit samples, even if patients have not travelled to an area affected by coronavirus, as part of the Scottish government plans.
The measure described as an “early warning” system to alert health professionals to possible spread of the virus.
“Hospitals and GP surgeries will now conduct tests on some patients with coughs, fevers or shortness of breath - regardless of whether they have travelled to a place where the virus is known to be spreading.”
“Not everyone with flu will be tested, but this is a sensible step to take as a precautionary measure to give us an early warning of community transmission.”
Continue reading...What are the statistics on surviving Covid-19? When might a vaccine be ready? Find out here
Coronavirus Covid-19 has now spread to six continents – only Antarctica is currently free of infections – and has triggered more than 85,000 cases of respiratory illness, of which nearly 3,000 have been fatal. The spread of the disease, which first emerged in Hubei province in central China at the beginning of 2020, has also triggered widespread financial alarm over the past week, with stock markets suffering their worst week since the global financial crisis of 2008.
Covid-19 is now an epidemic in many parts of the globe and is destined to have a major impact on the health of the planet. Here we answer some key questions about the disease and its likely effects.
Continue reading...Chancellor Rishi Sunak will have to rethink key parts of the budget next week because of growing fears that the spread of the coronavirus will trigger a global economic downturn, economists, former government ministers and advisers have warned.
Related: Britain’s economy dangerously exposed as coronavirus fear grips global markets
Continue reading...Our government is headed by an incompetent paranoid trying to wreck the institutions that could contain this deadly virus
This week the US stock market suffered its largest weekly loss since 2008, as cases of the novel coronavirus not explained by overseas travel or contact with a person known to be infected were reported in California, Oregon and Washington state. On Saturday, the first US death was reported.
Related: Trump fends off criticism of 'hoax' remark after first US coronavirus death
Continue reading...Despite reports of Covid-19 in Evin prison, staff are refusing to test her, say campaigners
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman detained in Iran, is suspected to have the coronavirus, her family has said.
The Free Nazanin Campaign said that although there were reports of at least one coronavirus-related inmate death inside Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, staff had refused to test her.
Continue reading...US strengthens travel advice, raising Iran and Italy to a level three, advising people to ‘avoid nonessential travel’. Follow live news
US confirms first death from the coronavirus in King County in Washington state.
BREAKING: First death from Coronavirus in Washington State - awaiting details on patient said to be from King County - @GovInslee statement @KIRORadio #973FM #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/TjlmhRIeBB
Reuters reports that the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Italy has climbed above 1,000, according to an official who said the number of deaths had surged to 29.
Continue reading...The Texas senator tried to pick a fight after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out Mike Pence’s coronavirus credentials
If you were in search of a scientifically minded, steadying presence to guide the country through the potential fallout of the coronavirus, you could not do much worse than Vice-President Mike Pence. This being the Donald Trump administration, however, where qualifications and expertise are often seen as prohibitive factors for top jobs, that’s exactly who we’ve been given.
Cutting to the heart of the matter with her characteristic bluntness, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez this week pointed out the absurdity of placing Pence in charge of a potentially looming health crisis.
Continue reading...The truth about the protective value of face masks and how easy it is to catch Covid-19
Many individuals who get coronavirus will experience nothing worse than seasonal flu symptoms, but the overall profile of the disease, including its mortality rate, looks more serious. At the start of an outbreak the apparent mortality rate can be an overestimate if a lot of mild cases are being missed. But this week, a WHO expert suggested that this has not been the case with Covid-19. Bruce Aylward, who led an international mission to China to learn about the virus and the country’s response, said the evidence did not suggest that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg. If borne out by further testing, this could mean that current estimates of a roughly 1% fatality rate are accurate. This would make Covid-19 about 10 times more deadly than seasonal flu, which is estimated to kill between 290,000 and 650,000 people a year globally.
Continue reading...Nigeria, New Zealand and Lithuania also report first cases as WHO says epidemic could get ‘out of control’. Follow live news
So coronavirus has finally arrived in sub-saharan Africa, with an Italian man who arrived in Nigeria three days ago becoming the country’s first case of the disease.
The case is in Lagos, a massive overcrowded city, which will raise fears that the virus might already have spread in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, and possibly further afield.
Nigeria is a major hub for air transport, commerce and culture. It has deep links with China, with continual and substantial traffic of people and goods. However this first confirmed case appears to have originated in Italy.
The WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, has warned that the “window of opportunity the continent has had to prepare for coronavirus disease is closing”.
Egypt had the first case of Covid-19 in Africa, announced on 14 February. Algeria declared it had a case on Tuesday – another Italian adult who arrived in the country on 17 February.
Earlier this month, officials at the WHO warned that porous borders, a continuing flow of travellers and poorly resourced healthcare systems meant the risk of an outbreak across Africa was “very, very high” and raised significant concerns about the ability of “fragile health systems” to cope with the epidemic.
But recent weeks have been used to reinforce testing regimes, isolation facilities and for public messaging too.
“Nigeria has dramatically improved its ability to manage the outbreak of a major pandemic since the Ebola scare in West Africa in 2014. Many of the lessons from keeping the country free of Ebola have informed the steps taken since the news of the coronavirus epidemic first broke,” wrote Folasade Ogunsola, professor of Clinical Microbiology, University of Lagos, on The Conversation website.
A further two coronavirus cases have been confirmed in England, bringing the total to 19.
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, said:
Two further patients in England have tested positive for Covid-19. The virus was passed on in Iran and the patients have been transferred to specialist NHS infection centres at the Royal Free Hospital. The total number of cases in England is now 17. Following confirmed cases in Northern Ireland and Wales, the total number of UK cases is 19.
Continue reading...Bonds designed to provide fast funding for poor countries branded ‘obscene’ because of complex payout criteria
A flagship $500m World Bank scheme to help the poorest countries deal with a health emergency is “too little too late” for the coronavirus outbreak, say health experts.
The first pandemic emergency financing (PEF) bonds were launched in 2017 by Jim Yong Kim, the bank’s president at the time, after the Ebola outbreak in west Africa. Designed to potentially “save millions of lives and entire economies” by speedily funnelling money to nations facing pandemics.
Continue reading...